Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Martin Capital Advisors LLP

Martin Capital Advisors LLP trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,480 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 19 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.5% of Martin Capital Advisors LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Martin Capital Advisors LLP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Morton Capital Management LLC CA increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 2,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,727 shares of company stock valued at $8,170,388. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded down $1.74 on Friday, reaching $709.51. 2,134,243 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,098,663. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $730.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $659.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.67 billion, a PE ratio of 46.30, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 26.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.